I'd rather be having a quiet drink... and can be followed on Twitter @alcothusiast; and friended on Untappd (handle: "neilcake" - all welcome).

Tuesday, 22 November 2016

What is post-fatherhood drinking really like? Part 2

generic picture depicting the drinking of grappa

I
was just reading What is Post-Fatherhood Drinking Really Like?Part 1, and I realised just how long ago I must have written that
piece. I mention somewhere in there that it was still the first month
of little Sylvie’s life, and I haven’t really thought about all
that I wrote and all that has happened since. Little Sylvie is
approaching 10 months old now, so I thought it might be worthy of a
part 2. Even though I promised not to talk about kids again. I think
it’ll be worthwhile though, and as it’s part 2, it’s kind of
the same post anyway.

So
what’s been going on? What’s the 411? What are the cool jams?

Well,
I wrote back in that first post about getting into a routine, and
that has proved vital. Little Sylvie now has bath and bed starting at
18.45, and is usually asleep by 19.30. Then she sleeps all the way
through to somewhere between 06.00 and 07.00. Mrs Cake and I are
usually knackered by 22.00, so we’re in bed soon after that and
sleeping better than ever. We have so little free time, and
for some reason that’s ok. Back before the little girl enriched our
lives we had something like 6 or more hours of free time in the
evening, and it wasn’t enough. Now we get 2 and a half hours, and
it’s plenty.

I
suppose the thing is, when you don’t have kids and you look at
parents, you don’t see time they spend with their kids as free
time. You see the kids as a burden, and it’s not like that. Time
with your kids is free time. It’s something that you want to
do. It’s like when my golf friends (see Golfageddon) asked
me if I’d be going on their annual golf holiday next year, I
couldn’t really see it and I wasn’t bothered. I was a bit gutted
to have had to miss the last one at first, because there was a chance
Mrs Cake might be going into labour, but now I don’t really want to
spend a week away from my family.

Similarly,
I’ve changed the way I go out. When I go on pub crawls now, I start
early and I usually aim to be heading home around 9pm. Which is good,
because I’m smashed and heading home before all the pubs get too
busy and too full of nobheads. Then I can be in bed around my normal
time and minimise my lie in the next morning. Even though the lie in
has been sanctioned, I still don’t want to spend too much time in
bed, missing hanging out with my little girl.

The
point is that all these things you might see as negatives – fewer
lie-ins (I say fewer because they do happen), less “free time” –
are not negatives.

If
Mrs Cake and I got out now, we go out in the afternoon and we take
the little girl with us. Mrs Cake can’t have much to drink just yet
because she is still breastfeeding, but that’s down to only four
times a day (that may sound like a lot, but in the first few months
it could be as many as 20 times!), and that means that if she wants
to, once little Sylvie’s gone to bed, she can go a bit nuts.
Currently the mother-in-law is visiting, and we’ve been taking
advantage of that by heading out into Urmston after little Sylvie’s
bed time for a few drinks. There’s also the option of staying over
somewhere and taking little Sylvie with us, like when our friends
Pablo and Veronica hired a narrow boat. We just took a small
inflatable bath along and Sylvie had her bath in there. Then she
slept on the bed at the front of the boat.

The
beer thing I talked about is still an issue from time to time – you
know, where you want to enjoy a beer, but your little one requires
attention meaning you can’t always drink it while it’s still
cold. These days the specific reason is that little Sylvie wants to
be walked around everywhere. She reaches out for your hands and
groans until you take them, help her up, and then walk her around
from the front of the house to the back and back again until it’s a
meal time or bath time.

Occasionally
you might pass within arm’s reach of your beer and you might be
able to have a sip, but most times both your hands are occupied and
you’ll just have to pass by. Also occasionally the little girl
might stoop to pick something up and end up sitting for a bit. That’s
your chance. Sadly none of this facilitates actually enjoying your
beer. It’s just a collection of stolen moments, and they aren’t
like forbidden fruit, it’s more like eating a rich and expensive
desert too quickly.

There’s
still no such thing as a nice quite sit down while she’s awake. Mrs
Cake and I can’t wait till she starts crawling and playing by
herself, but that no doubt will be a whole new ball game, where we
need eyes in the backs of our heads. Still, as long as we can do that
while sitting down…

Have
there been any mishaps? Not really. There was one time I was playing
with Sylvie while drinking a glass of grappa, and she jabbed out with
her hand, causing me to spill it, and a drop to land in her eye. She
didn’t like that very much.

Then
there was one time in the middle of a beer when I had sat her on the
sofa and we were playing, and she was having a lot of fun – so much
fun that I got my camera out. I forgot how much she loves cameras,
and was so busy trying to get some decent film that I failed to react
when she leaned towards the camera to grab it and went head first on
to the floor. She does this thing when she’s really upset where she
does a little cry, then she stops breathing, turns pink, while you
go, “breathe… breathe…”and she builds up a massive cry
that she unleashes with demonic fury. Anyway, she did that.

Postscript

Not
long after writing this post, little Sylvie suddenly became more
self-sufficient, and will now play on her own, sometimes for as much
as 40 minutes, and thus allowing her dad to sit on a comfy sofa and
enjoy a beer slowly, as god intended. Happy days.

1 comment:

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Definitions

What happens when you zone out after having had a cheeky lunchtime pint.

Alcothusiast:

Not an alcoholic, someone who appreciates booze.

Anxiety, The:

The uneasy feeling that accompanies any noteworthy hangover.

Booze Buffet Mentality:

The propensity people have to go nuts whenever there's a free bar.

Booze Porn:Photos of alcohol.

Bread Chest:Not booze related, but this term describes the indigestion you get from eating too many bread products too quickly. Just putting it out there...

Crawler's Block:The inability to decide where to go next during a pub crawl - often resulting in crawl stagnation and someone saying, "shall we just have another one here?"

Crawl Stagnation:The result of failing to plan a pub crawl sufficiently - lack of a route, theme or over-familiarity with nearby pubs can all be contributing factors.

Excess Induced Alcohol Aversion:An intolerance for a drink caused (usually) by one occasion of overindulgence.

The Family:My whisky collection.

MOMA:

Moment of Maximum Appreciation. Every bottle has one. It's the time you drink it where you enjoy it most.

Old Man Pub:Traditional British pub, renowned for being quiet, cosy and frequented by old men. Much favoured by people who like a nice chat while they drink.Psychological Drinks Cabinet:Collective term relating to the kinds of alcoholic drinks a person has need for.Road Beers:

Cans of beer that you take with you when you go out, to consume on the way.

The 3 Types of Rum:White, gold and dark. Together they form the base of many a great cocktail.

About Me

Neil Cake is interested in all types of booze, but is by no means an authority or expert. Most of the time he's just trying to be funny, but he is learning, and enjoys sharing his adventures and what he learns on the Drink it How You Like it blog.
Thengyuverrymuuuuuch.